We'll Finally Find Out What Happened to Belle's Mother in the Live-Action Beauty and the Beast

Ever since the live-action remake of Disney's Beauty and the Beast was announced, we've been tracking just about every move (and announcement) like we're secret service agents. From John Legend and Ariana Grande's duet to the news that there would be an "exclusively gay moment" at the end of the film, we've learned a lot of details ahead of its March 17 premiere. At this point, we thought there was nothing left to uncover—but, well, we were so wrong.

It turns out that the character of Belle's Mother is listed on the credits for the live-action Beauty and the Beast. We know what you're thinking: Isn't she dead? Or pretty much nonexistent, like most Disney mothers? And if she is in the film, wouldn't her appearance greatly alter the course of the beloved movie?

At Disney's world premiere in Hollywood presented by Swarovski, executive producer Don Hahn (who was a producer on the original film 25 years ago) came clean to us that yes, Belle's mother is in the new film (and played by actress Zoe Rainey). As to what capacity, well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Paige O'Hara, who voiced Belle in the 1991 film, was thrilled upon hearing the development: "It's huge because it’s a part that we didn’t have the time to flourish [in our film]. To explain to the audience what happened to the mother is going to be fantastic. In addition to that, Belle is an inventor now! How great is that?!"

But let's get back to Belle's mother for a minute. Whose decision was it to introduce the character? And how will her legacy live on in Belle? Without spoiling too much, Don Hahn filled us in.

Glamour: I was sleuthing around on IMDBPro, and there is a credit in the new live-action movie for Belle’s mother. Didn't she die in the original?

Don Hahn: Well, there was no Belle’s mother in the original film because being a Disney animator, we famously kill off all parents as fast as we can before the movie starts! [Laughs.] But in [the live-action film], you get a little glimpse of what happened to Belle’s mother and you get some more depth into Belle’s character. It’s like, "Oh my gosh, she did have a mother, and there’s this wonderful, beautiful story behind it." So that’s part of the fun of reinventing a movie like this and making it two hours instead of 80 minutes. You can put more flesh on the bone and put more time into these stories and investigate.

Glamour: Who came up with the idea to introduce Belle's mother?

DH: In situations like this, you have to look at Bill Condon, the director. He’s a brilliant man, and he’s brilliant in musical theater. He knows how to tell these stories musically and with actors. I think he and the writers on this film really wanted to dig deeper and get into this level of Belle’s character to investigate that more. A lot of these choices were Bill's, and I really applaud them.

Glamour: Do you think Disney fans are going to freak out if it changes something too much from the original, or do you think they’ll welcome it with open arms?

DH: I think Disney fans…it depends. The original movie is still there; it’s not going away. You can watch it when you go home tonight. But I love the idea and the opportunity to reinvent movies after a few years. It’s been 25 years; it’s time to reinvent it. It’s time to investigate some of these backstories that maybe we didn’t have time to do before. So you learn a little bit more about Belle, a little bit more about the Beast, and I think that’s exactly what it should be.

Glamour: Can you say anything about what kind of woman Belle’s mom is?

DH: Hmm, yes. [Laughs.] There’s kind of a Mr. Potts in the movie, though. Mrs. Potts kind of ends up with Maurice in the [original] movie in about two shots at the very end. We didn’t really want to show anything…we [just] kind of implied, "Oh, maybe they’ll get together and have a date or something like that." But, yeah, in this movie, maybe you’ll be surprised that Mrs. Potts maybe finds a little love and maybe Chip finds a dad. Which, wouldn’t that be great? I think we’re all rooting for Chip to find a dad because it’s so sad he sleeps alone in the cupboard every night.

Glamour: Now that the premiere is finally almost here, can you start to breathe a sigh of relief? This movie took three years to make.

DH: I don’t know if you’re ever relieved. I still have things I’d like to fix from the original movie 25 years ago.

Glamour: Like what?

DH: Well, you see drawings and think, Oh man, I’d like to go back and fix that drawing and do whatever. I’m too close to it, so you have to decide what to celebrate and what not to. I love this movie, and I love the fact that they expanded on it and reinvented it. I think the audience will feel the same way.

The new live action Beauty and the Beast premieres on Friday, March 17.